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Programming education has become a permanent feature of education. In over 300 Polish schools children learn how to programme using Photon robots. These devices develop together with children, and are intended even for pre-school children. More and more initiatives of this kind are appearing on the market. Manufacturers provide devices which children can assemble and programme themselves using applications, usually based on the Scratch programming language.

In 2017 producers sold almost 6 m large household appliances to retail chains. Electrolux wants to take advantage of this very beneficial market situation. The company is planning to increase employment and production capacities and to introduce new innovative products into the market. Within the next two years the company also aims to invest approx. PLN 50 m in factories in Poland. There are also plans of investing in product research laboratories operating in factories. The industry is afflicted by labour shortages, primarily in the middle segment, including technicians and people with vocational education.

Polish entrepreneurs are placing increasing importance on the organisation of business meetings. Prices are becoming less and less important, with the quality of service and location being the major factor. Company owners increasingly often choose for this purpose cosy restaurant rooms in city centres. Additional attractions such as live cooking and healthy, light menus are enjoying a surge in popularity.

Human biological rhythm depends on the light, including serotonin secretion, which conditions the quality of sleep and activity during the day. Thanks to a cocktail of light developed by Polish scientists, which consists of various wavelengths, it is possible to create conditions in space similar to those on Earth. A prototype already exists, and can be implemented after the tests. It will also find its use in greenhouses, hydroponic systems, bioreactors and even in depression treatment.

Automation might have a good effect on the level of wages and salaries in the Polish economy. It may also solve the problem of labour shortages which impede the development of businesses. An industrial robot costs from several hundred thousand to million zlotys, but it is an investment with a short payback time – it pays back as quickly as within a year or two, thus increasing efficiency and giving the business a competitive edge. This, in turn, results in lower costs and extra revenues. In Poland, industrial robots are used primarily in the automotive, chemical and steel industries.

In 2018, businesses can expect a record number of legal changes. Starting this year, the obligation to submit the JPK file, after large and medium-sized enterprises, has now covered small businesses. Furthermore, from now on the National Court Register will only accept electronic reports. More regulations are to enter into force in the following months, including those aimed at tightening the VAT system, and changes to the leasing reporting rules. In response to this new legislation, businesses will need to adapt their organisational and IT infrastructure.

“The upgrade capabilities of military helicopters which have been in service since the 1960s are quite limited and we need a technological leap,” said Gen. Piotr Patalong, former commander of Special Forces. As part of a procedure carried out by the Ministry of National Defence, eight helicopters intended for anti-submarine warfare and sea search and rescue operations will be delivered to the Navy. Today, this function is performed by well-worn post-Soviet Mi-14 helicopters. New machines are necessary to ensure the military and civil security on the Baltic.

A designed-from-scratch, more modular and spacious Citroën Berlingo, and a new C4 Cactus after a facelift, equipped in a number of technological innovations – these two were the main stars presented by the brand during the Motor Show in Poznań. But Citroën has a few more premières up its sleeve, including C5 Aircross, a large D-segment SUV, which is to appear in stores in the second half of the year. This year the concern aims to sell 17,500 cars and delivery trucks on the Polish market. The C3 continues to be its best-selling model.

World’s first Downtown Store by Volvo has just been opened in the very centre of Warsaw. It is a new concept of a car dealership with a coffee house and a cultural centre, where you can arrange a test drive or buy a car on the spot, while also enjoying a good coffee and music concerts. This way the brand wants to reach busy, hard-working residents of Warsaw who often don’t have the time to visit a dealership located on the outskirts.

Poland produced 2.3 m tonnes of sugar last year after the lifting of the sugar-beet and sugar quotas. This has led to a surplus of more than 600,000 tonnes on the domestic market. Exports to non-EU markets might be a solution to this problem. This, however, would require an appropriate system of logistics and infrastructure. To this end, Krajowa Spółka Cukrowa will build a new terminal in the Port of Gdańsk, allowing for the exports of about 300,000 tonnes of sugar a year.

Economic cooperation between Poland and the United States is flourishing. 2017 was a record-breaking year in terms of trade, which reached 12.7 bn dollars. The value of American investments in Poland is estimated at nearly 42 bn dollars. Foreign investments are growing in terms of numbers and seeing improvements in quality. They are increasingly often based on latest technologies which find their first use in Poland. Polish companies, too, are becoming bolder and bolder overseas. More than 70 Polish companies and businesses with Polish capital operate in the United States, with a total investment value of more than 2 bn dollars.

With a nearly 16-percent growth, last year was very successful for the leasing sector. The greatest boost could be observed in the segment of light passenger and delivery vehicles as well as in machinery and equipment. The latter segment has also continued to grow at a fast pace since the start of 2018. During the first half of this year we may expect these figures to go up by as much as 20 percent, as assessed by the BZ WBK Leasing experts. This can be attributed to the increased volume of investments made by businesses.

One of the effects of the banking sector consolidation in Poland is that banks are becoming more and more specialised. In the field of mortgage loans institutions are appearing which manage such loan portfolios. And while these institutions are not aggressively fighting for new customers, the example of BPH, a pioneer in this segment, shows that such operations can create new business opportunities. The Bank, whose spinned-off part was taken over in 2016 by Alior, had to build a new business model virtually from scratch. It has based a large part of its new operations on outsourcing.

Among other things, obsolete traffic regulations are a barrier to the development of the electric vehicles market in Poland. An amended act on the Road Traffic Law , which defines personal transportation vehicles, is waiting for becoming subject of the legislative process. At present, Segway vehicles are supplied mainly to companies. They prove incredibly useful as a means of transport for persons working in production halls, shopping malls and airports, but can also considerably assist people with disabilities in their daily activities.

The proposed changes in claims-limitation legislation will provide greater protection for debtors. Experts are warning that some fraudulent consumers might take advantage of this, as they would have more tools to avoid repaying overdue debt. These changes might have serious market implications. Most probably, they will affect claims management companies, businesses with overdue claims from clients and consumers themselves, as some financial products will be harder to get and more expensive, experts from the Conference of Financial Companies in Poland argue.